Vehicle tracker with power saving features and related methods

ABSTRACT

A vehicle tracking unit preferably includes a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, a back-up battery, and a controller connected to the wireless communications device and the vehicle position determining device. The vehicle position determining device, wireless communications device and controller may define a power load of the vehicle tracking unit. The controller may isolate the back-up battery from the power load as a voltage of the vehicle battery drops until reaching a threshold. After the threshold, the controller may cause the back-up battery to selectively power only a first portion of the power load while a second portion of the power load remains powered by the vehicle battery. The selectively powered portion from the back-up battery may be the wireless communications device, for example, which may have a higher operating voltage.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is based upon copending provisional applicationserial no. 60/264,811 filed on Jan. 29, 2001; No. 60/258,005, filed Dec.22, 2000; No. 60/251,552, filed Dec. 6, 2000; No. 60/252,125, filed Nov.20, 2000; No. 60/236,890, filed Sep. 29, 2000; No. 60/246,463, filedNov. 7, 2000; No. 60/222,777, filed Aug. 3, 2000; and No. 60/205,178,filed May 17, 2000, the entire contents of each of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of vehicle devices, and, moreparticularly, to a tracking and alerting system for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Motor vehicles, such as passenger cars, trucks, busses, fleet vehicles,etc. are widely used and knowing the locations of such vehicles is oftendesired. For example, should a vehicle be stolen, it would be beneficialto know the vehicle's location so that authorities could be promptly andaccurately directed to retrieve the vehicle. Indeed, the tracking systemcould plot the getaway path of the thief.

For a company with hired drivers, it may be desirable to know thedriver's whereabouts during the course of the day. Similarly, a rentalcar agency or other fleet operator, for example, may wish to know thewhereabouts of its fleet of vehicles.

It may also be desirable to track the location of a vehicle as it isused throughout the course of a normal day. For parents of younger orolder drivers, for example, knowledge of the vehicle's location mayprovide some assurance that the driver is at designated locations andfollowing a prescribed route.

A number of patents disclose various systems and approaches to trackingvehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,844 discloses a trackingsystem including a control center and a mobile unit installed in thevehicle. The mobile unit may send security warnings to the commandcenter via a wireless transceiver. Position information for the vehicleis determined using a GPS receiver at the vehicle.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,043 discloses a similar system which may send one ormore preprogrammed telephone messages to a user when away from thevehicle. The user may remotely access location information or causecertain commands to be carried out by entering a personal identificationnumber (PIN).

The widespread availability and use of the Internet has prompted anumber of vehicle tracking systems to also make use of the Internet. Forexample, TelEvoke, Inc. proposed such a system in combination withClifford Electronics. The system was to provide notification, controland tracking services via the telephone or the Internet. Users could benotified via phone, e-mail, or pager of events such as a car alarm beingtriggered. Users could control the vehicle remote devices via phone,web, or PDA such as unlocking car doors. Additionally, users could trackTelEvoke-enabled vehicles on the Internet or via the telephone. AnInternet map could be viewed by the user showing the actual and priorvehicle locations. TelEvoke offered its services via a centralized fullyautomated Network Operations Center. To reduce the communications costs,it was proposed to use the control channel of the cellular telephonenetwork.

Many conventional tracking units consume relatively large amounts ofpower when the vehicle is not being operated. Accordingly, such unitsmay quickly discharge the vehicle battery, and theft prevention isthereby lost, for example. Although some tracking units may be equippedwith a back-up battery, the back-up battery is typically connected tothe load in parallel with the vehicle battery. Although the back-upbattery can provide power to the unit in the event the battery cable iscut by a would-be thief, the back-up battery is otherwise drained downin voltage right along with the vehicle battery.

One or more components of the vehicle tracking system may require ahigher operating voltage. For example, a cellular telephone transmittermay require a higher operating voltage than other logic or positiondetermining components. These higher operating voltage components arethe first to be rendered unavailable as the vehicle and back-up batteryvoltage drop when the vehicle is unattended. Accordingly, theftprevention capability may be relatively quickly lost when the vehicle isleft unattended.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of thepresent invention to provide a vehicle tracking system and associatedmethod that can provide useful features over an extended period when thevehicle is left unattended and the vehicle battery discharges.

This and other objects, features, and advantages in accordance with thepresent invention are provided by a vehicle tracking system comprising avehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehiclebattery, and a monitoring station communicating with the vehicletracking unit. The vehicle tracking unit preferably includes a vehicleposition determining device, a wireless communications device, a back-upbattery, and a controller connected to the wireless communicationsdevice and the vehicle position determining device. The vehicle positiondetermining device, the wireless communications device and thecontroller may be considered as defining a power load of the vehicletracking unit. Moreover, the controller preferably isolates the back-upbattery from the power load as a voltage of the vehicle battery dropsuntil reaching a threshold. After or below the threshold the controllercauses the back-up battery to selectively power only a first portion ofthe power load while a second portion of the power load remains poweredby the vehicle battery.

The wireless communications device may have a higher operating voltagethan the vehicle position determining device. The first portion of thepower load that is selectively powered despite the low vehicle batteryvoltage may be the wireless communications device. In particular, thewireless communications device may be powered for transmission.Accordingly, the back-up battery can be saved for limited communicationusing the higher voltage wireless communications device and therebyprovide useful features even after an extended period during which thevehicle is left unattended and the vehicle battery discharges.

To further conserve power, the controller may reduce operation of thepower load as vehicle battery voltage falls. Conversely, the controllermay restore operation of the power load based upon the voltage of thevehicle battery rising again, such as upon being recharged.

The controller may further cause transmission of a low vehicle batteryvoltage alert to the monitoring station based upon the voltage of thevehicle battery falling bellow the threshold. Accordingly, the user maycause the monitoring station to issue a remote start command. Thecontroller may then generate a remote start output to remote start anengine of the vehicle and recharge the vehicle battery based upon theremote start command from the monitoring station.

The vehicle position determining device may comprise a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) device. In addition, the wirelesscommunications device may comprise a cellular telephone communicationsdevice, and, may communicate over a cellular control channel.

Of course, the monitoring station may include a user interface foraccepting at least one command from a user and sending at least onealert to the user. The user interface may comprise an Internetinterface, and/or a telephone network interface.

A method aspect of the invention is for operating a vehicle trackingunit in a vehicle comprising a vehicle battery. The vehicle trackingunit may comprise a vehicle position determining device, a wirelesscommunications device, and a back-up battery. The method preferablycomprises isolating the back-up battery from powering the vehicleposition determining device and the wireless communications device as avoltage of the vehicle battery drops until reaching a threshold. Afterreaching the threshold, the method preferably includes selectivelypowering the wireless communications device with the back-up batterywhile the vehicle position determining device remains powered by thevehicle battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a vehicle tracking system inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the vehicle tracking unit asshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is more detailed block diagram of the monitoring station as shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for operation of the vehicle tracking system asshown in FIG. 1 illustrating a vehicle stolen alert.

FIGS. 5A-5C are a flowchart for operation of the vehicle tracking systemas shown in FIG. 1 illustrating a vehicle alarm sounding alert.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for operation of the vehicle tracking system asshown in FIG. 1 illustrating a vehicle speeding alert.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for operation of the vehicle tracking system asshown in FIG. 1 illustrating an unauthorized transmitter learned alert.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for operation of the vehicle tracking system asshown in FIG. 1 illustrating a low battery alert.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for operation of the vehicle tracking system asshown in FIG. 1 illustrating a GPS or cellular unit failure alert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments ofthe invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theillustrated embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the vehicle tracking system 20 in accordancewith the invention is now initially described. The vehicle system 20illustratively includes a vehicle tracking unit 25 to be mounted in thevehicle 21 and a monitoring station 30 which is remote from the vehicleand which is typically in a fixed location. In the illustratedembodiment, the vehicle tracking unit 25 interfaces with various vehicledevices, such as may include security sensors, door locks, etc. as willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The vehicle tracking unit 25 is also illustratively connected to aseparate vehicle security system 27 as may already be installed in thevehicle 21, from the factory or installed as an aftermarket product.Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments ofthe vehicle tracking system 20 a separate vehicle security system 27 maynot be needed, and/or various features thereof can be readily.incorporated in the vehicle tracking unit 25.

The monitoring station 30 may typically service a number of subscribers31. As shown perhaps best in FIG. 3, the monitoring station 30 mayinclude a user interface, such as the schematically illustratedtelephone network interface 33 and the internet interface 34 which areschematically coupled to a telephone 35, and a computer 36,respectively. Of course in other embodiments, other interfaces may beused and only one of the illustrated interfaces may be needed. Those ofskill in the art will also recognize that messages may be sent to asubscriber or user via preprogrammed voice messages, e-mail messages,facsimile messages, pager alerts, etc. In addition commands orinstructions from the subscriber can also be input to the monitoringstation 30 via the telephone network interface 33 and/or the internetinterface 34, from the subscribers telephone 35 or computer 36.

The monitoring station 30 is illustrated connected to a cellulartelephone tower 32 which, in turn, may communicate with the vehicletracking unit 25 in some embodiments. Of course, in other embodimentsother communications approaches are also contemplated, such as, forexample, including satellite communications.

The monitoring station 30 may typically include the necessary modems,and other communications electronics, and computers for its functionswhich are described in greater detail below. The configuration of suchcomponents and their details will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art. Accordingly, no further discussion of these details isneeded.

Referring now more specifically to FIG. 2, additional details of thevehicle tracking unit 25 and devices at the vehicle are now furtherdescribed. The vehicle tracking unit 25 illustratively includes acontroller 40, a vehicle position determining device 42, and a wirelesscommunications device 44 connected together. The vehicle positiondetermining device 42 may be provided by a GPS receiver, for example.The GPS receiver typically operates by receiving multiple signals fromspaced apart satellites 38 as will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art.

In other embodiments, the vehicle position determining device 42 may beprovided based upon communications with the cellular telephone network,or based upon other satellite transmissions, for example. As aparticular example, time of arrival techniques are available based uponmultiple reception paths to determine position via the cellulartelephone network as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.The vehicle position determining device 42 also illustratively includesan indicator 43 associated therewith, such as for indicating anoperating mode, or proper operation of the device as will be addressedin greater detail below.

The wireless communications device 44 may be provided by a cellulartelephone transceiver configured to operate on a control channel of thecellular network. Such a control channel may provide nearly universalcoverage for the tracking system 20 as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art. In addition, the control channel may offerrelatively inexpensive communications between the monitoring station 30and the vehicle tracking unit 25 as will be appreciated by those skilledin the art. The wireless communications device 44 also illustrativelyincludes an optional status indicator 45 with a similar function as theindicator 43 for the vehicle position determining device.

The wireless communications device 44 in other embodiments, may transmitin the voiceband of the cellular network. Alternately, the wirelesscommunications device may communicate over other networks, such as oversatellite, or via wireless internet services, as will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

The controller 40 illustratively includes a central processing unit(CPU) 50 or other logic circuitry which is connected to a clock signalgenerator 51 and a memory 52. In other embodiments, the memory 52 may bean embedded memory in the CPU 50. The controller 40 also includesschematically illustrated input/output circuitry 53 to interface withvarious vehicle devices. In particular the input/output circuitry 53 mayprovide dual polarity compatibility for one or more inputs or outputs aswill described in greater detail below. One or more of the terminals ofthe input/output circuitry 53 may also provide both input and outputfunctions as will also be described in greater detail below. This maysignificantly simplify and accelerate installation of the vehicletracking unit 25 in the vehicle 21.

Also illustratively shown as part of the vehicle tracking unit 25 are aback-up battery 54, and switch 55 connected thereto for selectivelypowering certain of the components based upon the controller 40. Ofcourse, the vehicle 21 also includes an electrical system including thevehicle battery 61. Powering of the vehicle tracking unit 25 isdescribed in greater detail below.

The vehicle 21 also includes a number of other components that mayrelate to vehicle tracking, security, and/or convenience featuresprovided by the vehicle tracking system 20. For example, the vehicle 21may include one or more door lock actuators 62, an optional remotestarting device 63, a starter interrupt device 66 and an alarm indicator67. For example, the alarm indicator may be provided by a vehicle hornor vehicle siren, and/or flashing of the lights.

The optional separate security system 27 illustratively includes avehicle security controller 28 and a receiver 29 connected thereto. Asis conventional, the vehicle security system 27 may be switched betweenarmed and disarmed modes, for example, by one or more uniquely codedremote transmitters 60. The vehicle security controller 28 may also becapable of learning a new uniquely coded remote transmitter 60 as willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art. The vehicle securitycontroller 28 also illustratively is connected to the starter interruptdevice 66 and the alarm indicator 67.

For ease of explanation, a number of the features of the vehicletracking system 20 are now described. The vehicle tracking system 20includes a number of features that may simplify installation andmaintenance. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle tracking unit25 may have a test switch 71 connected to the controller 40.

In normal operation, the controller 40 may be called upon to operate atleast one vehicle device. Of course, the controller 40 also cooperateswith the wireless communications device 44 and the vehicle positiondetermining device 42 to determine and send vehicle position informationto the monitoring station 30. Moreover, the controller 40 may beswitchable to a test mode for test operation of the at least one vehicledevice responsive to activation of the test switch 71.

In some embodiments, the at least one vehicle device may be a pluralityof vehicle devices that are tested by operation in sequence. Forexample, the at least one vehicle device may comprise at least one doorlock actuator 62. The at least one vehicle device may also comprise thestarter interrupt device 66, or the engine remote starter 63 if remotestarting is an implemented feature. The at least one vehicle devicewhich is tested, may also be the alarm indicator 67. Accordingly, aninstaller, for example, can quickly check that the tracking unit hasbeen properly installed.

To further provide for ready determination of proper operation of thevehicle tracking unit 25, one or both of the position determining andwireless communications devices 42, 44 may include associated indicators43, 45 as mentioned briefly above, and which provide an indicationrelating to proper operation. Each indicator 43, 45 may indicate a modeof operation of the device, its proper operation, or a partial orcomplete failure of the device.

Another aspect of the invention is that the controller 40 may provide aselectable polarity for the at least one vehicle device based uponsensing thereof. Accordingly, a predetermined activation of the testswitch 71 may cause the controller 40 to sense and select the properpolarity. Pressing the test switch 71 for a predetermined time or in apredetermined pattern may sense and set the polarity.

Another feature of the vehicle tracking unit 25 and vehicle trackingsystem 20 relates to conservation of the number of codes or messagesthat need to be sent to the vehicle tracking unit. In particular, thecontroller 40 may have a plurality of different controller states andrespond differently to a same message from the monitoring station 30 atdifferent times depending upon the controller state at a given time.Accordingly, a number of codes or messages used by the system can beconserved. Various messages are described in greater detail below.

A controller state may change based upon several different occurrencesor events. For example the controller may change states in response to achange in at least one vehicle device, or based upon a message receivedby the wireless communications device 44 from the monitoring station 30,and/or based upon elapsed time. The controller states, for example, mayinclude an alert sent state based upon an alert message being sent fromthe wireless communications device 44. Thereafter, receipt of apredetermined message by the wireless communications device 44 when thecontroller 40 is in the alert sent state may confirm receipt of thealert message by the monitoring station.

Receipt of the predetermined message by the wireless communicationsdevice 44 when the controller 40 is in another state different than thealert sent state may thus cause a different response by the controller.The alert sent state may comprise at least one of a vehicle stolen alertsent state, a vehicle alarm sounding alert sent state, a vehiclespeeding alert sent state, an unauthorized remote transmitter alert sentstate, a low vehicle battery alert sent state, and a device malfunctionalert sent state. The various alert messages and confirmation thereofare described in greater detail below.

The code or message conservation aspects of the vehicle tracking system20 also permit sending a sequence of codes or messages within apredetermined time to also cause a different response at the vehicletracking unit 25. In other words, the plurality of controller states maycomprise a received first message state based upon a first message beingreceived by the wireless communications device 44 from the monitoringstation 30. Receipt of a second message by the wireless communicationsdevice 44 when the controller 40 is in the received first message state,such as within a predetermined time window, for example, may thus causea different response by the controller than does receipt of the secondmessage when the controller is in another state than the received firstmessage state.

The plurality of controller states may comprise a vehicle finder statesounding an audible signal via the alarm indicator 67 at the vehicle 21.In this state the controller 40 would bypass sending a vehicle alarmsounding alert to the monitoring station 30.

Another aspect of the vehicle tracking system 20 is the provision ofcertain power conservation and management techniques, such as to permitextended periods where the vehicle 21 is not operation. During suchextended periods, the vehicle battery 61 provides power to the vehicletracking unit 25 as well as other vehicle devices. Accordingly, thevoltage of the vehicle battery 61 drops over time. The vehicle trackingunit 25 may provide a significant drain on the vehicle battery 61because of the power consumed by the wireless communications device 44during transmission as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The vehicle position determining device 42, the wireless communicationsdevice 44 and the controller 40 may be considered as defining a powerload of the vehicle tracking unit 25. The controller 40 may operate theschematically illustrated power switch 55 to isolate the back-up battery54 from the power load as a voltage of the vehicle battery 61 dropsuntil reaching a threshold. After or below the threshold the controller40 may cause the back-up battery 54 to selectively power only a firstportion of the power load while a second portion of the power loadremains powered by the vehicle battery.

For example, the wireless communications device 44 may have a higheroperating voltage than the vehicle position determining device 42. Thefirst portion of the power load that is selectively powered despite thelow vehicle battery voltage may thus be the wireless communicationsdevice 44. In particular, the wireless communications device 44 may bepowered for transmission. Accordingly, the back-up battery 54 can besaved for limited communication using the higher voltage wirelesscommunications device 44. This provides useful features even after anextended period during which the vehicle 21 is left unattended and thevehicle battery 61 gradually discharges.

To further conserve power, the controller 40 may reduce operation of thepower load as vehicle battery voltage falls. Conversely, the controller40 may restore operation of the power load based upon the voltage of thevehicle battery 61 rising again, such as upon being recharged.

Also relating to power consumption, the controller 40 further causestransmission of a low vehicle battery voltage alert to the monitoringstation 30 based upon the voltage of the vehicle battery 61 fallingbelow the threshold. The user or subscriber may cause the monitoringstation 30 to issue a remote start command. The controller 40 may thengenerate a remote start output to the remote start device 63 to therebystart the engine and recharge the vehicle battery.

Another feature of the vehicle tracking system 20 is that the vehicletracking unit 25 may be readily installed and connected to a vehicle 21,such as in the illustrated embodiment where the vehicle includes astarter interrupt device 66 and a separate vehicle security controller28. More particularly, the controller 40 may switch between an armedmode and a disarmed mode based upon operation of the engine starterinterrupt device 66. The controller 40 when in the armed mode maycooperate with the wireless communications device 44 to send an alertmessage to the monitoring station 30 and including vehicle positioninformation, for example, based upon the vehicle position determiningdevice 42. The controller 40 is also for selectively operating theengine starter interrupt device 66 to provide additional securityfeatures.

In one advantageous embodiment, the controller 40 preferably comprises acombination input and output terminal for connection to the enginestarter interrupt device. This terminal is at the input/output circuitry53 and is schematically illustrated by reference numeral 72. Thecontroller 40 may switch to the armed mode when in the disarmed mode andbased upon the engine starter interrupt device 66 being operated todisable engine starting. Conversely, the controller 40 may switch to thedisarmed mode based upon the engine starter interrupt device 66 beingoperated to enable engine starting. In other words, the vehicle trackingunit 25 can piggyback its arming and disarming off the existing vehiclesecurity system 27, for example.

The controller 40 may also selectively operate the engine starterinterrupt device 66 based upon a command message from the monitoringstation 30. The controller 40 may selectively operate the engine starterinterrupt device 66 based upon a command message from the monitoringstation 30. Alternately, or in addition thereto, the controller 40 mayselectively operate the engine starter interrupt device 66 based uponthe ignition switch 65.

The following descriptive portions relate to various user or subscribernotifications and features provided by the vehicle tracking system 20.Of course, the controller 40 preferably cooperates with the wirelesscommunications device 44 to send an alert message. The monitoringstation 30 may comprise a user interface, such as one or both of thetelephone network or internet interfaces 33, 34, respectively (FIG. 3),for generating a sequence of alert message notifications based uponreceiving the alert message sent from the vehicle tracking unit 25. Moreparticularly, the monitoring station interface permits canceling anyremaining alert message notification based upon a cancellation commandresponse from a user or subscriber having already received the alertmessage notification. The user may send the cancellation response viathe telephone 35 or computer 36 (FIG. 3), for example. Thus, if the usermay be reached at different telephone numbers or different users aredesirably notified of the alert, this aspect of the vehicle trackingsystem 20 can make the notifications efficiently and without makingunnecessary notifications.

The vehicle tracking system 20 may provide any of a number of veryuseful alerts, as discussed herein. For example, the alert message sentfrom the vehicle tracking unit may comprise at least one of a vehiclestolen alert message, and a vehicle alarm sounding alert message. Thealert message may be one of a vehicle speeding alert message, and avehicle acceleration alert message. In addition, the alert message maycomprise an unauthorized remote transmitter alert message. Also, thealert message may be at least one of a low vehicle battery alertmessage, and a device malfunction alert message.

The speeding alert may be based upon exceeding a speed threshold forgreater than a certain time, which may be user selectable. Theacceleration alert may also be useful as such is also indicative ofaggressive driving along with the speeding alert. The unauthorizedremote transmitter alert increases overall security since a user will benotified if a would-be thief learns an unauthorized transmitter tooperate the controller. These alerts are described in greater detailbelow.

The vehicle tracking system 20 may be implemented as a service to asubscriber. In other words, the subscriber pays a monthly fee for theservice. Accordingly, it may be important to encourage a user toregister. Similar subscriber or registrations systems in the past havesuffered revenue losses since some users would wait to activate thesystem until the vehicle was stolen. In other words, the user would onlysubscribe or register and pay a single month's fee.

In accordance with this aspect of the vehicle tracking system 20 promptuser registration is encouraged. In particular, the vehicle trackingunit 25 may include the user registration reminder indicator 56 and thecontroller 40 may be switchable from an unregistered mode to aregistered mode. In the registered mode, the controller 40 may cooperatewith the wireless communications device 44 and the vehicle positiondetermining device 42 to determine and send vehicle position informationto the monitoring station 30. In the unregistered mode, the controller40 may activate the user registration reminder indicator 56 to encourageregistration by the user.

The controller 40 may be switchable to the registered mode based upon anactivation message from the monitoring station 30. For example, when theregistration payment has been received, the monitoring station can sendone or more messages to the vehicle tracking unit 25 to stop activationof the registration reminder indicator 56. The indicator 56 may beaudible, visual or both. For example, the registration reminderindicator 56 could be a beeping sound generated by a small piezoelectrictransducer every ten minutes or so when the ignition 65 is on.

In other words, the user registration reminder indicator 56 may providea minor but irritating annoyance to the user to encourage registration.Upon successfully registering, the annoyance is abated. Accordingly, arelatively straightforward approach is provided to encourage userregistration.

Along these lines, the controller 40 when in the unregistered mode mayhave reduced features compared to the registered mode. For example, thecontroller 40 when in the unregistered mode may be restricted or limitedin sending messages with the wireless communications device 44.Accordingly, usage of the wireless communications network may bereduced. Transmissions from the vehicle tracking unit 25 may also bebeneficially suppressed during original installation, for example.

Returning again to features of the vehicle tracking unit 25 whichfacilitate installation, the controller 40 may send an alarm indicationalert responsive to a continuous activation of the alarm indicator 67for greater than a predetermined time. Alternately, or in additionthereto, the controller 40 may send an alarm indication alert responsiveto a repetitive pattern of alarm indicator 67 activations. In otherwords, the controller may be configured to distinguish between normaloperation of a vehicle horn by the driver, and activation of the horn bythe security system 27. As mentioned above, the controller 40 may alsomonitor signals of at least one of a first and second polarity. Thecontroller 40 thus advantageously piggybacks off the alarm indicationgenerated by the vehicle security system 27 to determine and send avehicle alarm sounding alert to the monitoring station 30.

In one variation, the controller 40 may monitor signals delivereddirectly to the vehicle alarm indicator by the vehicle securitycontroller 28. In another variation, the controller 40 monitors signalsof voltage dips of the vehicle battery 61. Circuitry is conventionallyand readily available for both such functions, as will be readilyappreciated by those skilled in the art.

The controller 40 may also include a dual polarity compatible output inthe input/output circuitry 53 for a vehicle device, such as the vehiclealarm indicator 67. The controller 40 may further monitor signalsrelating to activation of the vehicle alarm indicator 67 and send analarm indication alert with position information from the vehicleposition determining device and using the wireless communication device.

For the dual polarity output compatibility, the controller 40 maygenerate a first polarity output pulse followed by a second polarityoutput pulse. The controller 40 may also generate a repeating pattern ofa first polarity output pulse followed by a second polarity output pulseon the dual polarity compatible output. In yet other embodiments, thecontroller 40 may sense an actual polarity of the device and thereafteruse the actual polarity for the dual polarity compatible output.

Where the vehicle device is a vehicle horn, the controller 40 maytypically be configured to generate a negative polarity output on thedual polarity compatible output. Conversely, wherein the vehicle deviceis a vehicle alarm indicator siren, the controller 40 may be configuredto generate a positive polarity output on the dual polarity compatibleoutput.

Another aspect of the vehicle tracking system 20 relates to conservingmemory space and/or reducing transmission time over the communicationsnetwork. In accordance with this advantageous feature, the controller 40may determine the vehicle position information including a vehiclelocation and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of thevehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period. Inone embodiment, the controller 40 may cooperate with the wirelesstransmission device 44 to send the vehicle position information to themonitoring station based upon each occurrence of the vehicle remainingstationary for greater than the predetermined period. In thisembodiment, the monitoring station 30 may associate a time with eachoccurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than thepredetermined period. In other words, the monitoring station 30 may timestamp the received information.

In another embodiment, the controller 40 cooperates with the wirelesstransmission device 44 to send the vehicle position information to themonitoring station 30 for a plurality of occurrences of the vehicleremaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period. In thisembodiment, the controller 40 may associate a time with each occurrenceof the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predeterminedperiod. In other words, the controller time stamps the position andstationary period information.

As an example, the predetermined time which determines whether thevehicle 21 is stationary and the position should be determined, may beless than about three minutes. This time may filter out vehicle stops innormal traffic, but which will keep track of stops where the driverlikely leaves the vehicle 21. Accordingly, only the importantinformation necessary to track the vehicle need be stored and/ortransmitted thereby reducing the system costs. If the vehicle 21 isstationary overnight, for example, unnecessary position information neednot be determined, stored, and/or transmitted to the monitoring station30.

The controller 40 may comprise the memory 52 for storing the vehicleposition information therein. In one configuration, the controller 40downloads the vehicle position information from the memory 52 to themonitoring station 30 based upon a predetermined schedule. In anotherconfiguration, the controller 40 downloads the vehicle positioninformation from the memory 52 to the monitoring station 30 based upon apredetermined event. In yet another configuration, the controller 40downloads the vehicle position information from the memory 52 to themonitoring station 30 based upon a predetermined percentage of memoryusage.

Having now described certain general features and advantages of thevehicle tracking system 20, this description now turns to additionalspecific details which are provided as examples. In particular, vehicletracking system 20 preferably implements one or more of the followingfeatures:

1. Detects the vehicle being stolen and transmits a signal to themonitoring station to contact up to 3 people, for example, predeterminedby the user, of theft of the vehicle and then starts tracking thevehicle. The contact may be by one or more of the following: an e-mailmessage, a pager alert, a cellular telephone call, or other telephonecall.

2. Detects an optional vehicle security or alarm system activation andtransmits a signal to the monitoring station to contact up to 3predetermined people to inform them the vehicle's alarm is beingactivated.

3. Detects an optional vehicle alarm system's remote PANIC activationand transmits a signal to the monitoring station to contact up to 3predetermined people to inform them of the vehicle's PANIC beingactivated.

4. Detects a vehicle being programmed to operate from an unauthorizedremote transmitter, key transponder, other transponder, or other devicethat has a unique coding, and the vehicle unit transmits a signal to themonitoring station to contact up to 3 predetermined people to informthem of this occurrence. The system can also make available informationrelating to a number of such coded devices, or a change therein, or whena change occurred. A message can be sent to the user or the informationcan be available to the user on the WEB site. The vehicle would beequipped with a security system as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,688,for example, which determines an unauthorized transmitter and providesan alert feature. This patent is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference.

5. Detects the vehicle traveling over a predetermined speed, such as fora predetermined time, and transmits a signal to the monitoring stationto send a message, such as an e-mail informing the user (and/or others)of this occurrence. Of course, the message could also be sent via atelephone call or page, should additional urgency be required. Thevehicle's predetermined maximum speed limit and duration thereof can beselected by the user.

6. Detects a low battery voltage such as for a predetermined time andtransmits a signal to the monitoring station to contact up to 3predetermined people to inform them of vehicle's low battery voltage.This is especially advantageous during winter so that the vehicle couldbe started, for example, to prevent a problem before it happens). Thetime setting is preferably selectable by the user.

7. Detects the vehicle not moving for a predetermined time and transmitsa signal to the monitoring station to send, for example, a nightly emailinforming the user of all the vehicle's location and stationary timeoccurrences. The stationary time length is also selectable. This may beadvantageous to encourage patrolling personnel not to remain for a longtime in a same location.

8. The vehicle unit preferably includes a back-up battery system makingit more reliable.

The vehicle unit may be relatively inexpensive. In addition, themonitoring fee that includes sending up to 60 e-mails and making up to 6phone calls per month, may also be relatively low. The relatively lowmonitoring fee is based, at least in part, on the current relatively lowrates charged for use of the control channel of the cellular telephonenetwork. It is also noted that access to the control channel providescoverage for almost the entire U.S., for example.

The user or subscriber also preferably has access to an Internet sitethat will display a map and silently contact the vehicle to acquire it'scurrent location, speed, direction of travel, and previous multiplelocations with speeds, for example, the user's personal identificationnumber (PIN) can be quickly activated by a telephone call. No additionalinstallation may be required.

Certain annual pre-pay package arrangements may be available. Forexample, up to 10 access entries per month can be provided on a lowmonthly billing. Up to 30 access entries could be provided also for arelatively low monthly fee.

The present invention provides a number of other significant advantagesincluding optional access from any phone or from any computer to accessthe monitoring station internet site. The user may control variousvehicle functions remotely via the telephone or the internet site. Theonly charge may be for additional equipment and installation.

Additional features can also be included with the system and subscribedto by the user in accordance with the invention. For example, theseinclude Hijack, Car Finding, Unlock Doors and Unauthorized TransmitterAlert Features. The equipment and installation is relativelyinexpensive. For the hijack feature: from any phone or computer, theuser may activate vehicle starter interrupt and sound the horn until thevehicle is retrieved (Command 4).

For the Car Finding feature: from any phone or computer, the user mayactivate the vehicle's horn, or siren and sound same for 30 seconds.This allows the user to find his vehicle in a crowded parking lot(Command 5).

For the Lock/Unlock vehicle doors feature: from any phone or computer apredetermined command (Command 7) activates unlocking of vehicle doorsto retrieve keys, for example, that may have been accidentally lockedinside the vehicle. Of course, the system can also be used to lockvehicle doors if this was forgotten (Command 6). The unauthorizedtransmitter alert feature is similarly selected as described above.

In addition, a remote vehicle start feature may also be provided, suchas to start the vehicle's engine to heat or cool the vehicle prior toentry. The equipment and installation for remote starting may berelatively low. Some further details of a specific embodiment of thevehicle tracking unit 25 are provided below as relating to use of redand green LED indicators as may be coupled to the controller 40 andoperated thereby. Also various representative wires, designated bycolor, are provided as an example embodiment.

The red LED verifies the GPS receiving signal. With a yellow wire havingpositive 12 volts, the red LED blinking indicates searching GPSlocation, constant indicates found location, and off indicates no GPSsignal found. With the yellow wire not having positive 12 volts, if thered LED is off, the LED is not functioning.

The green LED verifies receiving the cell tower signal. With the yellowwire having positive 12 volts, blinking indicates the cell controlchannel signal is detected, constant indicates sending a micro burstsignal (LED stays on 5 seconds after each transmission), and offindicates no cell tower signal received. With the yellow wire not havingpositive 12 volts, off indicates the green LED is not functioning.

An example of representative DIP switch feature selection is as follows.A first switch may be used for adding the orange wire for controllingarm/disarming of system. When on, the orange wire controls arm/disarm asfollows: to arm, the orange wire is grounded and the yellow wire doesnot have 12 volts positive. To disarm, the orange wire is not grounded.When the first switch is off, then only the yellow wire controlsarm/disarm as follows: to arm, the yellow wire is without 12 voltspositive, and 30 seconds after continued arm mode then the orange wireactivates a constant 500 ma grounded output to operate an externalstarter interrupt relay until the system is disarmed. To disarm, theyellow wire is connected to 12 volts positive.

A main 5-pin plug may be provided on the vehicle unit and connected asfollows:

1. The Red Wire is connected to the 12 vdc power. An alert warning “E”is given if the system is armed and the battery voltage becomes lowerthan 11 volts for longer than ## minutes. This alert feature “E” willnot operate again until the voltage is above 12 volts to re-set thisfeature.

2. The black wire is connected to ground.

3. The yellow wire is connected to the ignition 12 volts so that if thekey is on, 12 volts is supplied thereto and if the key is off, theyellow wire is connected to ground. Further: if the system is in anarmed mode and the Lat/Long changes, then Alert “A” is given. If thesystem is disarmed and within 2.5 seconds after the yellow wire receives12 volts and the gray wire detects 3 or more positive pulses the systemactivates Alert “D”. If the first DIP switch is in the off positionthen: if 12 volts is on yellow wire, the system is disarmed and theorange wire discontinues from the 500 ma ground, and if the yellow wiresees ground or neutral, then the system is armed and 30 seconds afterthe continued arm mode the orange wire activates a constant 500 magrounded output to operate an external starter interrupt relay until thesystem is disarmed.

4. The gray wire is for input and output, and can be connected to analarm siren or horn positive terminal. In addition:

a. With the system armed and if the gray wire detects +12 v pulsingon/off or on constant for more than 10 seconds from an alarm siren orhorn honking activation, then alert warning “B” alarm activation isgiven.

b. With system disarmed and if the gray wire detects +12 v pulsingon/off or on constant for more than 10 seconds from an alarm siren orhorn honking activation, then alert warning “C” panic activation isgiven.

c. With system disarmed and if the Gray wire detects 3 or more 12 voltpositive pulses within 2.5 seconds of yellow wire receiving 12 v+ andthe gray wire by-pass not being activated, then alert warning “D” isgiven.

d. The gray wire bypass operates as follows:

i. After alert warning “B” bypass all future alert “B” signals untilsystem is disarmed.

ii. After alert warning “C” bypass all future Alert “C” signals untilsystem is armed.

iii. After alert warning “D” bypass all future alert “D” signals untilno 12 volt pulses are detected on the gray wire within 3 seconds of theyellow wire having 12 volts.

e. With the system armed or disarmed. The Output: Internal+12 v, 1 amptransistor with pulses 1 second on and 1 seconds off to activate sirenor honk car horn or flashing light relay.

i. Non-stop activation from (Command “4”)

ii. 30-second activation from (Command “5”)

f. Turn off the above alert “A” from (Command “1”).

5. The orange wire is for the starter interrupt and arm/disarm system,and operates as follows:

a. If first DIP switch is in the:

i. On position and: the orange wire has 12 volts or neutral, the systemswitches to the disarmed mode; the orange wire is grounded, then thesystem is switched to the armed mode; and the starter interrupt outputwill not automatically operate. It can only be activated from “Command#4”

ii. Off position and the orange wire does not effect the arming ordisarming of the system; 30 seconds after system arms the orange wirewill automatically activate constant 500 ma ground until the system isdisarmed. And from “command #4”. Connect to Starter interrupt relayoutput.

b. Command 4 activates Orange wire to have 500 ma. negative untilCommand 1 is received.

c. After Alert warning “B” is activated the first time it is thereafterbypassed while the orange wire remains grounded. Alert warning “B” isre-set to operate again 3 seconds after orange wire becomes ungrounded.

The vehicle unit may also include a Door Lock Plug configured asfollows, for example. A green wire provides a 250 ma, negative 1 secondpulse for Lock Doors. (Command “6”). A red wire provides a constant 12 voutput from the red power wire. A blue wire provides a 250 ma., negative1 second pulse for Unlock Doors (Command “7”). A pink wire provides a250 ma., negative 1 second pulse for remote Car Starter (Command “2”)

An installation test button may also be provided to work as follows.Pressing the button activates the orange wire for 10-seconds (starterinterrupt), with these circuits in sequence. First, it activates thegray wire for 1-second (siren/horn). After the first stops, it activatesthe green wire for 1 second to lock the doors. After the second stops,it activates the blue wire for 1 second to unlock the doors. After thethird stops, it activates the pink wire for 1 second to activate anoptional item.

Representative warning alerts are as follows:

1. Alert Warning “A” (FIG. 4): Automatic activation of “Command 8” andthe vehicle unit contacts monitoring station to instantly call 3 phonenumbers with the message “Your Vehicle is stolen please confirm thencall 911 to advise police of web site and your pin # so police canlocate the vehicle”. This is detected with the system armed and the GPSindicating movement. Bypasses all future alert warning “A” signals untilthe system is re-armed.

2. Alert Warning “B” (FIGS. 5A-5C): the vehicle unit contacts themonitoring station to instantly call 3 phone numbers with the followingmessage “Vehicle alarm activated please confirm”. This is with thesystem armed and detecting gray wire having 12 volts pulsing or onconstant for longer than 10-seconds. After alert warning “B” isactivated the first time, it is thereafter bypassed while the orangewire remains grounded. Alert warning “B” is re-set to operate again 3seconds after orange wire becomes ungrounded.

3. Alert Warning “C” (FIG. 6): the vehicle unit contacts the monitoringstation to instantly send e-mail message “vehicle was traveling fasterthan your preset amount of “###” and time limit of “##” seconds.Indicates the vehicle speed and location that the speeding started andhow long speeding accrued” (Detected from GPS). This aspect is furtherunderstood with reference to the enclosed flowchart 84 of FIG. 6.

4. Alert Warning “D” (FIG. 7): the vehicle unit contacts the monitoringstation to instantly call 3 phone numbers with the message “Unauthorizedremote transmitter was just programmed to operate your vehicle.” This iswith the system disarmed and the Gray wire detecting three or more 12volt pulses within 2.5 seconds of the yellow wire having seen 12 voltspositive. All future alerts “D” are bypassed until no 12 volt pulses aredetected on the gray wire within 3 seconds of the yellow wire seeing 12volts. This aspect is further understood with reference to the enclosedflowchart 85 of FIG. 7.

5. Alert Warning “E” (FIG. 8): the vehicle unit contacts the monitoringstation to instantly call 3 phone numbers with the message “Vehicle haslow battery voltage and system has changed to low voltage mode”. This iswith the system armed and detecting the Red wire with lower than 11volts for ## minutes. All future alerts “E” are bypassed until, first,more than 13.5 volts are detected on the red wire and, second, after theyellow wire stops having positive voltage the red wire then must detectmore than 12 volts.

The following are representative commands for use in the system:

Command 1: Reset all circuits and system remains asleep until theignition key is turned on. Resets the triggered mode and unit is asleepto prevent power drain on vehicle battery.

Command 2: (Accessory activation) monitoring station Command to thesystem to activate Pink wire to pulse 250 ma negative for 1 second.

Command 3: (Vehicle Location) Web site to indicate present location andpast events in memory.

Command 4: (Hijack or Stolen) monitoring station Command to vehiclesystem to activate:

a. Gray wire to pulse 1 sec on/1 sec off with 1 amp positive output andwhich continues until receive command # 1.

b. Orange wire to have 500 ma ground and which continues until receivecommand # 1.

Command 5: (Car Find) monitoring station Command to system activatingGray wire for 30 seconds pulsing 1 sec on/1 sec off with 1 amp positiveoutput.

Command 6: (Lock Doors) monitoring station Command to system activatingGreen wire to pulse 1 second with 250 ma. negative.

Command 7: (Unlock Doors) monitoring station Command to system toactivate Blue wire to pulse 1 second with 250 ma. negative.

Command 8: (Start Constant Vehicle Tracking) sends previous 2 events inmemory and then every 120 seconds get update of location informationsent to the Web site.

The system is also operable in a battery saver mode which operates asfollows:

1. With the ignition key off, if the battery voltage drops below 11.5volts for more than 5 seconds, the GPS verification wakes up to look:

a. Once instantly.

b. Once in 1 hour if at the same location.

c. Once in 6 hours if at the same location.

d. Once in 12 hours if at the same location.

e. Once every 24 hours if at the same location.

f. Activate alert “E” when the battery saver mode is activated, andbypass sending all future Alert “E” until the battery voltage goes above13 volts for 10 minutes to reset this feature.

Another aspect of the invention relates to automatic vehicle alerte-mails sent containing some or all of the previous system events. Thissending can be triggered as follows:

a) At a user selected predetermined time ## (01-24) of each day, or

b) At a predetermined memory fill level, such as full or near full.

In addition, each system event may contain one or more of the following:

a) Vehicle Location

b) Vehicle total time at location

c) Time of day

d) Mph traveling

e) Total time traveling above MPH

f) Direction traveling

g) Delta

h) Special Alert messages, if any, including:

i) GPS signal not received for longer than 5 minutes.

ii) Traveling above ###MPH for ## minutes.

iii) Vehicle is stolen.

iv) Alarm activated.

v) Unauthorized remote transmitter alert.

vi) Battery saver mode activated

vii) Command 1: Reset all circuits and system remains asleep until theignition key is turned on.

viii) Command 2: (Accessory activation)

ix) Command 3: (Vehicle Location was retrieved)

x) Command 4: (Hijack or Stolen mode activated)

xi) Command 5: (Car Find mode activated)

xii) Command 6: (Locked Doors)

xiii) Command 7: (Unlocked Doors)

xiv) Command 8: (Started 2-second incremental Vehicle Tracking)

Another feature of the invention relates to the selectable thresholdconditions causing an event to be recorded into the memory of thevehicle unit. For example, this may include: while the yellow wire has12 volts, record events every “??” default 15 minutes time if the GPSlocation has changed. If the GPS location is the same then only updatestationary total time. If the GPS antenna is not receiving any signalthen enter last known GPS location and with an indication that this wasthe last known GPS location before the GPS signal stopped, how long noGPS signal was received, and the GPS location in the on-hold file, whenthe vehicle is traveling above ### MPH for ##-minutes.

The monitoring station may also provide a number of automated phonecalls as described above. These may include:

1. The user's vehicle has issued a stolen alert:

a. If vehicle is stolen, after receiving the phone message the user thencalls 911 to advise police of the theft, and gives the police the Website address and an identification number, such as the user's PIN, toallow the police to locate where your vehicle has been, where it is nowand keep tracking it until the police can retrieve the vehicle.

b. If this is a false alert due to vehicle being towed away for service,for example, then the user may press “1” to put the vehicle in an offmode. Once the ignition key is turned on again the system will resetback to its normal operation mode.

2. The user's vehicle has issued an alarm activated for more than 10seconds alert. The system will not respond to this alert again untilignition key is turned on again to reset this feature.

3. The vehicle battery voltage is low or has been disconnected. Thetracking system is in low voltage mode. The system will not respond tothis alert again until the battery voltage goes above 13 volts for 10minutes to reset this feature.

The backup battery may be sized according to the GPS receiver andprocessing power draw. In addition, the battery may also be sized basedupon estimated micro burst transmitting power draw. Such transmissionare typically at about 3 watts power to the antenna.

The system according to the invention including the vehicle unit andmonitoring station provides a number of significant advantages andfeatures. For example, the police may be directly contacted by the userwhen the vehicle is stolen. The user receives the telephone message fromthe monitoring station, and this is done without requiring theintervention of a manual security monitoring operator, such as an ADToperator, for example. In addition, once in the stolen mode, the vehicleunit will periodically continue to send out its location, so that thepolice may track the vehicle via the WEB, for example. This locationsending feature may begin immediately, that is, without requiring theuser to contact the vehicle to begin tracking. Having the vehiclecontacting the monitoring station is considerably less expensive thanother schemes where the vehicle is periodically polled via the cellularnetwork, for example.

The system may also be interfaced to a breath alcohol sensor at thevehicle, for example, and this information recorded in memory. Theinformation could be passed along to the monitoring station, which, inturn, could send out a notification message (e-mail or telephone) thatthe vehicle is being operated by a driver who may be impaired byalcohol. The vehicle's location could then be tracked to permit thepolice to detain the driver.

Another aspect of the unit is that it may be able to recognize thedesirability to bypass certain security breach triggers or other events.For example, a car finding feature can be provided that will allow theuser to sound the horn or siren when near the vehicle to help locate thevehicle, as in a crowded parking area. Without the bypass feature, theunit could recognize the horn or siren as a security breach and transmitsuch information to the monitoring center. In accordance with thisaspect of the invention, the unit would recognize the car findingfeature was activated and thereby bypass sending a security breachtransmission, for example. Again, false alarms and unneeded usage andexpense of the communications infrastructure would be avoided.

Yet another aspect of the invention relates to thwarting a would-bethief who attempts to disable the alarm by cutting the battery cable orpower supplied to the system. The unit preferably includes a back-upbattery. More particularly, upon being in an armed mode and sensing abreach of security, such as the hood opening, for example, the unit willsend out a signal indicating the alarm or security breach and while thealarm is indicated, if the battery is disconnected then the unit willsend out a message indicating the vehicle is stolen, and also providingthe vehicle's current position. Accordingly, the would-be thief is notable to defeat the security system by quickly disrupting power to theunit during an alarm indication or security breach. Also, to preventadditional alerts, this message is prevented from being transmittingagain until the user returns to the vehicle to disarm the system and/orturn on the ignition so that the unit sees a voltage above 13 volts,indicating the vehicle has started using the owner's ignition key. Thisaspect is further understood with reference to the enclosed flowchart 80(FIG. 4).

Still another aspect of the invention relates to how the unit candiscriminate between ordinary usage or honking of the horn as comparedto a security system triggered alarm. Most vehicle security systems willprovide a pattern of horn soundings as an alarm indication, and this canbe determined and used to reduce false alarm transmissions from theunit. For example, the unit can look at the number of leading andtrailing edges of the power pulse used to sound the horn. A singlepressing of the horn switch by the user will cause two edges within apredetermined time, such as about 10 to 12 seconds. Accordingly, theunit can be configured to not send a security breach transmission to thecontrol center based upon detecting two transitions. Since a number ofvehicle security systems may have a continuous sounding of the hornwithin the predetermined time, the unit can send the transmission upondetecting only a single transition.

A number of other vehicle security systems provide a series of pulses orhorn soundings within the predetermined time. Accordingly, the unit mayalso be configured to send a security breach transmission upon detectinggreater than a predetermined number of transitions, such as greater thannine, for example. This number is also typically higher than a userwould generate honking the horn several times within the predeterminedtime. In other terms, the number of transitions of the horn pulses canbe counted, and if equal to one, or greater than nine, for example, thetransmission is triggered, and otherwise the sounding of the horn isignored. Also, to prevent additional alerts, this message is preventedfrom being transmitted again until the user returns to the vehicle todisarm the system and/or turn on the ignition so that the unit sees avoltage above 13 volts, indicating the vehicle has started using theowner's ignition key. This aspect is further understood with referenceto the enclosed flowcharts 81-83 (FIGS. 5A-5C).

Yet another feature of the invention relates to a low vehicle batteryalert. For example, the unit may monitor the battery voltage over apredetermined time such as ten minutes. The ten minute window preventsfalse tripping, for example, when the voltage dips during enginecranking. In particular, the voltage can be sensed and it can bedetermined whether it is greater than zero (e.g. greater than six volts)and less than a high value (e.g. eleven or twelve volts), and, if so, alow battery voltage transmission can be communicated to the monitoringstation, and ultimately to the vehicle user when away from the vehicle.If the vehicle is being serviced and the battery is disconnected, thiswill cause the battery voltage to be equal to zero. Then, the lowbattery voltage transmission will not be communicated to the monitoringstation. Also, to prevent additional alerts, this message is preventedfrom being transmitted again until the user returns to the vehicle todisarm the system and/or turn on the ignition so that the unit sees avoltage above 13 volts, indicating the vehicle has started using theowner's ignition key. Again, false triggerings are reduced. This aspectis further understood with reference to the enclosed flowchart 86 (FIG.8).

Yet another advantageous feature of some embodiments of the inventionrelates to the ability to conserve electrical power. More particularly,when the vehicle is stopped and in the armed mode, the GPS receiver maybe periodically operated to determine the vehicle position. If thevehicle position changes, this is indicative that the vehicle is beingmoved or stolen. For example, the GPS receiver may be operated togenerate new vehicle position information every 29 seconds. Theserelatively quick successive position determinations or readings aregenerally termed hot start. These are relatively less complicated than acold start position determination which takes longer, since the coldstart position determination requires greater time to acquire andreceive data from multiple satellites, as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art.

Unfortunately, this relatively high repeated usage of the GPS receivermay cause unnecessary battery drain, especially when the vehicle is leftarmed and unattended by the user for an extended period. Accordingly,the power conserving feature of the invention permits the GPS receiverto be turned off when the vehicle is in the armed mode, and the GPSreceiver is turned on only when needed. For example, a vehicle sensor,such as a shock sensor, motion sensor, ignition sensor, door sensor, orother sensor, or combinations thereof could be used to start the GPSreceiver. This sensor could also be used to trigger an alarm if desired;however it need not be so used in all embodiments. The GPS receiver,once turned on, could operate in the normal periodic fashion asdescribed above, or for a fixed period of time. The GPS receiver couldalso be turned off again after some predetermined time if no furthersensor signal is received, or if the position fails to change onsubsequent position readings or determinations.

Yet another feature relates to permitting more colorful audible alertmessages to be generated for the user. The user can, in someembodiments, access an internet site to type or enter the text for amessage to be sent, such as to alert the user that his vehicle is beingstolen. The audible message then communicated by a telephone call to theuser is generated by a speech message synthesizer based upon the enteredtext. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, the user couldtype in phonetically spelled words or phrases, such as to create morecolorful messages including slang terms, various accents, and/or tomimic various dialects, for example. The speech synthesizer would thengenerate the desired message customized for the user. Of course, thesystem could also permit the user to test or preview the pronunciationgenerated by the speech message synthesizer based on the entered textmessage prior to its adoption.

Another aspect relates to requesting GPS position information from avehicle. If a command is sent downstream to the vehicle requesting thatGPS information in turn be sent upstream from the vehicle, and the GPSinformation is not received within a predetermined time, such as aboutfour minutes, then another command may be sent to the vehicle requestingthe GPS information. This may keep repeating until GPS information isreceived, for a predetermined number of tries, or until a user instructsstopping of the requests. This helps to ensure and confirm theactivation and reception of GPS tracking coordinates from the vehicle.

Yet another aspect relates to reducing a frequency with which GPSinformation is sent from the vehicle. More particularly, the unit may beconfigured to activate GPS information transmission upstream every 2minutes. To reduce system usage expense and power consumption at thevehicle, this rate of transmission of GPS information could beprogressively decreased over time. For example, in one embodiment, uponactivation the GPS location signals could be sent every 2 minutes duringthe first hour, then once an hour for the next 23 hours, after whichonly one signal would be sent per day.

Turning now to the flowchart 87 of FIG. 9, still another aspect relatesto warning the user of an inoperable or malfunctioning GPS or cellulartelephone section. More particularly, if the GPS or cellular telephoneantenna wire is cut or the mounting position of either is changedcausing the antenna to stop receiving the signal the user would notordinarily know of this problem quickly. In accordance with oneembodiment, if the ignition is turned on a predetermined number oftimes, such as about three, and each time ignition turns on if no GPS orno cell signal is received for a minimum time, such as about 15 to 30minutes or longer, an audible warning beeper may be activated in thevehicle. This beeper may be sounded once every 15-minutes. At anytime ifthe GPS or cell signal is received properly then the system re-setsautomatically stopping the beeper sound.

As an example, if the ignition key is turned on and no GPS or no Cellsignal is being received for 15-minutes, and the vehicle ignition stayson for 45-minutes and there is still no GPS or no cell signal, the unitcounts one. Thereafter, if the ignition key is turned on and no GPS orno cell signal is being received for 15-minutes, and the vehicleignition stays on for 60-minutes and there is still no GPS or no cellsignal, a second count is determined. Thereafter, if the ignition isturned on and no GPS or no cell signal is received for 10-minutes, andthe vehicle ignition stays on for only 10-minutes and there is still noGPS or no cell signal, no count is determined. Thereafter, if theignition is turned on and no GPS or no cell signal is being received for15-minutes, a third count is determined and the beeper is activated asdescribed above. This beeping may continue every 15-minutes while thevehicle ignition stays on as long as the vehicle ignition stays on for16-minutes and still no GPS or no Cell signal is being received. Ifthereafter, the ignition is turned on and no GPS or no cell signal isbeing received, the beeper beeps once and again beeps once every15-minutes while vehicle ignition stays on. If in 10-minutes both GPS orcell signal is being received, the beeper system is turned off and thewarning count is reset.

By way of example, if the ignition key is turned on and no GPS or nocell signal is being received for only 5, 10 or 12 minutes (with thethreshold set at 15 minutes), then no count is determined.

In certain circumstances, the GPS signal may fail, but the cell signalmay still be working. Accordingly, it may be desirable to send anindication of the failure of the GPS signal to the central monitoringstation to thereby alert the user as described above. If the cell signalalso failed, or if the cell signal failed by itself, in otherembodiments a separate paging device would transmit the failure or lossof the cell signal information to the central monitoring station, tothereby alert the user.

Yet another feature is directed to efficient use of a relatively smallnumber of codes available to communicate with the tracking unit from thecellular network and central station. More particularly, a typicalarrangement may provide eight basic codes and two “wildcard” codes. Thetwo wildcard codes are reserved for future or other uses. A particulartracking device will respond directly to any of the eight basic codes.For example, the doors could be locked or unlocked, a present locationdownloaded from the vehicle, etc.

In accordance with this feature, the tracking device may responddifferently to the same code or command depending upon the state orcondition of the tracking device. For example, if an alarm is triggeredat the vehicle, it may be desired that the tracking device continue tosend the alarm signal until confirmation is received that the centralmonitoring station has received the alarm signal. This confirmation canbe sent using the same code as may provide another function if thedevice were not indicating an alarm. Any of a number of such trackingdevice conditions may trigger a different message to be interpreted fromthe received code. For example, if any of the above Alerts A-E weretriggered, the receipt of a predetermined code, such as code eight,would confirm receipt of the alert by the central station, and thisreceipt of code eight would not cause the other response (no alarmtriggered) in the tracking device. Of course this concept can beextended to other features as will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art.

In accordance with another feature, the rate of sending the location orposition data (or change in position data) from the vehicle may bevaried to reduce system usage and thereby reduce expenses. Moreparticularly, in one embodiment, the rate of sending may be based uponhow long the vehicle has remained stationary. This time period may beselected by the user. For example, the selected time may be in the rangeof 15 minutes to six hours. If the vehicle has been stationary for theselected time period, then the rate of transmission may be reduced. Thisreduces or eliminates the need to send home position data and send allthe over 15-minute stops made that day. Otherwise, that is when thevehicle is moving, the device may send data at a faster rate. Of course,a system user would not likely be interested in quick updates,especially where the position information is not changing. Conversely,if the vehicle is being moved, it may be desirable to receive morefrequent position updates.

Another variation of this transmission rate conservation feature, basesthe rate of transmission on the vehicle position. For example, a reducedrate of transmission may be selected if the vehicle is in apredetermined area where the user has a lesser interest in quicklyupdated position information. The user may also have a reduced interestin an area that can be defined outside of a predetermined distance froma reference point.

Yet another variation of the vehicle position transmission rateconservation feature is based upon the vehicle's speed, such as thevehicle's average or maximum speed, for example. Accordingly, if thevehicle is traveling above a preset speed, the rate of transmission maybe increased.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the tracking devicemay send the alert indication a predetermined number of times withoutreceiving an acknowledgment as described above, and then wait until thevehicle position has changed before trying again or the cellre-registers or its RSS (received signal strength) changes. Thus, poweris conserved. When the vehicle has moved to a new position, anyobstructions may no longer be present thereby increasing the likelihoodof a successful communication. In addition, the change in position may.be determined when the vehicle is sensed to be moving about apredetermined relatively small speed, such as greater than 1 mph, forexample.

In all of the embodiments and variations described herein, the trackingdevice may communicate with one or more other vehicle devices via avehicle data communications bus. Further aspects of interfacing with avehicle data communications bus are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,719,551 and 6,011,460 assigned to the assignee of the presentinvention.

Yet another aspect relates to efficient use of available codes on thecellular telephone control channel. In one particular example, ten codesmay be available to be transmitted from the monitoring station to thevehicle trackers. The first eight or nine codes are command codes thatwill cause a specific action by the tracking device at the vehicle. Theother one or two codes may be wildcard codes as mentioned above, thatmay set a stand-by mode for one or a group of vehicles, for example.

It may be desirable to provide more than eight commands at the vehicleresponsive to the corresponding eight available codes. For example, itmay be desirable to set a feature on or off, or to set a differentfeature setting or threshold. In accordance with this aspect of theinvention, the commands at the tracker are determined based upon aseries of different command codes being received within a predeterminedtime window.

For example, the monitoring station may send code 9 that switches thetracker in the car into a stand-by mode for a predetermined time andwhich causes the tracker to respond with an upstream confirmation code 7or 9 indicating receiving code 9. During the predetermined time of thestand-by mode another code follows that causes a system programmablefeature or setting to change. Note that the second code would otherwisecause a different function at the vehicle. Note that system mightoperate a function 9 if another code 1-9 is not received in thepredetermined time. The following list is exemplary for featuresresulting from second codes 1-9:

(1) Code 1—Tracker will turn off feature of upstream code caused byvehicle alert being detected.

(2) Code 2—Tracker will turn on feature of upstream code caused byvehicle alert being detected.

(3) Code 3—Tracker deactivates cell receiver from operating due to anon-paying customer for monitoring service. That phone number can thenbe allocated to another customer.

(4) Code 4—Turn on audio buzzer feature that will sound once each 10minutes. The monitoring station need only send the command to activatethe feature, as the tracker will time the period and drive the buzzerthereafter. The monitoring station will normally not need to send thiscommand because the tracker will be configured out of the box with thisfeature activated to sound the buzzer every 10 minutes until the nextcommand is received.

(5) Code 5—Turn off the audio buzzer. This is to be sent by themonitoring station after a user has successfully activated his account.

(6) Code 6—Turn on the 80 mph speed limit reporting. This will normallynot be sent as this feature will be the default setting of the tracker.

(7) Code 7—Turn off the 80 mph speed limit reporting.

(8) Code 8—Increase speed limit 5 mph and increase the time 5 minutes.

(9) Code 9—Decrease speed limit 5 mph and decrease the time 5 minutes,and wait 5 minutes if another code number follows. It could operate thisway to allow another set of codes to change more features.

In this example, in response to the tracker receiving the system code1-9, the tracker sends an upstream code 7 to acknowledge receipt of thesystem code 1-9. Upon receipt of code 9 the tracker waits up to 5minutes to determine if another system code is received. If no code isreceived, then the tracker performs the code 9 operation. Of course, inother embodiments other features or settings can be selected.

In general, it may be preferred that the first code sent in a series oftwo codes, for example, be a code that causes only a minor function tobe performed at the vehicle. This so because if the second code is sentfrom the monitoring station, but not received at the tracker, only aminor function is performed. For example, the first code may switchbetween armed and disarmed modes. This is in contrast to using a remoteengine starting code or engine shutdown code as the first code. Thevehicle may be moving or positioned in a marginal reception area, andthe second command may not be received by the tracker within thepredetermined time window. As will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art, this concept of multiple digit codes, can be extended beyondtwo digits to three or more.

To further conserve cellular transmissions and as described above, thetracker may be set to record a position based upon a determined event.Only this recorded position information may be downloaded either by userrequest or at set times. It is desired that such events be relativelyfew, but that the information still be helpful to the user.

For example, an event for recording of position may be determined basedupon the vehicle being stopped for greater than a first time and lessthan a second time. For example, the first time may be 15 minutes andthe second time may be 6 hours. Determination of the vehicle beingstopped can be made based upon one or both of the GPS position or thevehicle ignition being turned off. The second time prevents therecording of position information when the vehicle is stopped at theowner's home during the evening, for example. Accordingly, the importantinformation of the vehicle stops being made is recorded and madeavailable to the user, while system communications resources areconserved.

In another example, if the mode is selected to send the vehicleslocation every 10 min and the vehicle is in the same location forgreater than a set time, then no more vehicle locations are sent untilthe vehicle location has changed to start the every 10 min reportingagain.

Other features relating to vehicle control systems are disclosed incopending patent applications entitled VEHICLE TRACKER INCLUDINGSTATIONARY TIME DETERMINATION AND ASSOCIATED METHODS, application Ser.No. 09/859,727; VEHICLE TRACKER CONSERVING CODES AND RELATED METHODS,application Ser. No. 09/859,673; VEHICLE TRACKER COOPERATING WITH ASTARTER INTERRUPT AND RELATED METHODS, application Ser. No. 09/859,973;VEHICLE TRACKER WITH USER NOTIFICATIONS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS,application Ser. No. 09/859,733; VEHICLE TRACKER WITH USER REGISTRATIONREMINDER AND RELATED METHODS, application Ser. No. 09/859,971; VEHICLETRACKER INCLUDING INPUT/OUTPUT FEATURES AND RELATED METHODS, applicationSer. No. 09/859,972; and VEHICLE TRACKER WITH TEST FEATURES AND RELATEDMETHODS, application Ser. No. 09/859,729, the entire disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tothe mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.Accordingly, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited tothe embodiments disclosed, and that other modifications and embodimentsare intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle tracking system comprising: avehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehiclebattery, said vehicle tracking unit comprising a vehicle positiondetermining device, a wireless communications device, a controllerconnected to said wireless communications device and said vehicleposition determining device, and a back-up battery; said vehicleposition determining device, said wireless communications device andsaid controller defining a power load of said vehicle tracking unit;said controller isolating said back-up battery from the power load as avoltage of the vehicle battery drops until reaching a threshold afterwhich said controller causes said back-up battery to selectively poweronly a first portion of the power load while a second portion of thepower load remains powered by the vehicle battery; and a monitoringstation communicating with said vehicle tracking unit.
 2. A vehicletracking system according to claim 1 wherein said wirelesscommunications device has a higher operating voltage than said vehicleposition determining device; and wherein the first portion of the powerload is said wireless communications device.
 3. A vehicle trackingsystem according to claim 1 wherein said wireless communications devicehas a higher operating voltage during transmission than said vehicleposition determining device; and wherein the first portion of the powerload is said wireless communications device during transmission.
 4. Avehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein said controllerfurther reduces operation of the power load based upon dropping of thevehicle battery voltage.
 5. A vehicle tracking system according to claim4 wherein said controller restores operation of the power load basedupon rising of the voltage of the vehicle battery.
 6. A vehicle trackingsystem according to claim 1 wherein said controller further causestransmission of a low vehicle battery voltage alert to said monitoringstation based upon the voltage of the vehicle battery falling bellow thethreshold.
 7. A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 whereinsaid controller generates a remote start output to remote start anengine of the vehicle and recharge the vehicle battery based upon aremote start command from said monitoring station.
 8. A vehicle trackingsystem according to claim 1 wherein said vehicle position determiningdevice comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.
 9. A vehicletracking system according to claim 1 wherein said wirelesscommunications device comprises a cellular telephone communicationsdevice.
 10. A vehicle tracking system according to claim 9 wherein saidcellular telephone communications device communicates over a cellularcontrol channel.
 11. A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1wherein said monitoring station comprises a user interface for acceptingat least one command from a user and sending at least one alert to theuser.
 12. A vehicle tracking system according to claim 11 wherein saiduser interface comprises an Internet interface.
 13. A vehicle trackingsystem according to claim 11 wherein said user interface comprises atelephone network interface.
 14. A vehicle tracking unit for use with avehicle comprising a vehicle battery, the vehicle tracking unitcomprising: a vehicle position determining device; a wirelesscommunications device; a back-up battery; and a controller connected tosaid wireless communications device and said vehicle positiondetermining device; said vehicle position determining device, saidwireless communications device and said controller defining a power loadof said vehicle tracking unit; said controller isolating said back-upbattery from the power load as a voltage of the vehicle battery dropsuntil reaching a threshold after which said controller causes saidback-up battery to selectively power only a first portion of the powerload while a second portion of the power load remains powered by thevehicle battery.
 15. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 14wherein said wireless communications device has a higher operatingvoltage than said vehicle position determining device; and wherein thefirst portion of the power load is said wireless communications device.16. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 14 wherein said wirelesscommunications device has a higher operating voltage during transmissionthan said vehicle position determining device; and wherein the firstportion of the power load is said wireless. communications device duringtransmission.
 17. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 14 whereinsaid controller further reduces operation of the power load based upondropping of the vehicle battery voltage.
 18. A vehicle tracking unitaccording to claim 17 wherein said controller restores operation of thepower load based upon rising of the voltage of the vehicle battery. 19.A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 14 wherein said controllerfurther causes transmission of a low vehicle battery voltage alert basedupon the voltage of the vehicle battery falling bellow the threshold.20. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 14 wherein saidcontroller generates a remote start output to remote start an engine ofthe vehicle and recharge the vehicle battery based upon receiving aremote start command.
 21. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 14wherein said vehicle position determining device comprises a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) device.
 22. A vehicle tracking unit accordingto claim 14 wherein said wireless communications device comprises acellular telephone communications device.
 23. A vehicle tracking unitaccording to claim 22 wherein said cellular telephone communicationsdevice communicates over a cellular control channel.
 24. A vehicletracking unit according to claim 14 wherein said monitoring stationcomprises a user interface for accepting at least one command from auser and sending at least one alert to the user.
 25. A vehicle trackingunit according to claim 24 wherein said user interface comprises anInternet interface.
 26. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 24wherein said user interface comprises a telephone network interface. 27.A vehicle tracking unit for use with a vehicle comprising a vehiclebattery, the vehicle tracking unit comprising: a vehicle positiondetermining device; a wireless communications device; a back-up battery;and a controller connected to said wireless communications device andsaid vehicle position determining device; said vehicle positiondetermining device, said wireless communications device and saidcontroller defining a power load of said vehicle tracking unit; saidwireless communications device having a relatively higher operatingvoltage than said vehicle position determining device and saidcontroller; said controller isolating said back-up battery from thepower load as a voltage of the vehicle battery drops until reaching athreshold after which said controller causes said back-up battery toselectively power only said wireless communications device while saidvehicle position determining device and said controller remain poweredby the vehicle battery.
 28. A vehicle tracking system according to claim27 wherein said wireless communications device is selectively poweredduring transmission.
 29. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 27wherein said controller further reduces operation of the power loadbased upon dropping of the vehicle battery voltage.
 30. A vehicletracking unit according to claim 29 wherein said controller restoresoperation of the power load based upon rising of the voltage of thevehicle battery.
 31. A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 27wherein said controller further causes transmission of a low vehiclebattery voltage alert based upon the voltage of the vehicle batteryfalling bellow the threshold.
 32. A vehicle tracking unit according toclaim 27 wherein said controller generates a remote start output toremote start an engine of the vehicle and recharge the vehicle batterybased upon receiving a remote start command.
 33. A vehicle tracking unitaccording to claim 27 wherein said vehicle position determining devicecomprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.
 34. A vehicletracking unit according to claim 27 wherein said wireless communicationsdevice comprises a cellular telephone communications device.
 35. Avehicle tracking unit according to claim 34 wherein said cellulartelephone communications device communicates over a cellular controlchannel.
 36. A method for operating a vehicle tracking unit in a vehiclecomprising a vehicle battery, the vehicle tracking unit comprising avehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device,and a back-up battery, the method comprising: isolating the back-upbattery from powering the vehicle position determining device and thewireless communications device as a voltage of the vehicle battery dropsuntil reaching a threshold; and after reaching the threshold,selectively powering the wireless communications device with the back-upbattery while the vehicle position determining device remains powered bythe vehicle battery.
 37. A method according to claim 36 wherein thewireless communications device is selectively powered duringtransmission.
 38. A method according to claim 36 further comprisingreducing operation of at least one of the vehicle position determiningdevice and the wireless communications device based upon dropping of thevehicle battery voltage.
 39. A method according to claim 38 furthercomprising restoring operation of the at least one of the vehicleposition determining device and the wireless communications device basedupon rising of the voltage of the vehicle battery.
 40. A methodaccording to claim 36 further comprising causing transmission of a lowvehicle battery voltage alert based upon the voltage of the vehiclebattery falling bellow the threshold.
 41. A method according to claim 36further comprising remotely start an engine of the vehicle andrecharging the vehicle battery based upon receiving a remote startcommand.
 42. A method according to claim 36 wherein the vehicle positiondetermining device comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.43. A method according to claim 36 wherein the wireless communicationsdevice comprises a cellular telephone communications device.
 44. Amethod according to claim 43 wherein the cellular telephonecommunications device communicates over a cellular control channel.